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Berry Petroleum Assembles Board of Directors Post-Bankruptcy

Share Print Bookmark    |    Monday,June 19,2017

Berry Petroleum has detailed its new Board of Directors after successfully emerging from bankruptcy in February 2017.

The board will be comprised of:

- Brent Buckley - Chairman of the Board

• Mr. Buckley, 45, is a Managing Director with Benefit Street Partners focused on the firm’s distressed credit and special situation investment activities. Prior to joining Benefit Street Partners in 2014, Mr. Buckley was a Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners, where he helped to build the distressed credit investing business. Prior to Centerbridge Partners, he served as Managing Director for Deutsche Bank Securities, where he oversaw the research effort for the Distressed Products Group. Mr. Buckley received a Master of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and a Bachelor of Science from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

- A.T. (Trem) Smith - CEO

• Mr. Smith, 62, has significant experience in all phases of the oil and gas exploration and production business in the U.S. and internationally. He was most recently the CEO of TS&J Consulting, a full-service upstream E&P consultancy practice advising clients on A&D, strategic, and operational initiatives, and Hillwood International Energy, an international E&P company who had operations in the U.S., Russia, and Iraq. While at Hillwood, Trem oversaw strategic transactions representing over $2 billion of aggregate value and a 1+ billion barrel resource discovery along with the associated $500+ million development project. Prior to that, Trem spent 25 years in various roles at Chevron Corporation, including President and General Manager of Russia operations, where he led several major acquisition projects and operational initiatives. Trem graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College with a major in Geology and Russian. He has a Masters and PhD in Economic Geology from The Pennsylvania State University.

- Cary Baetz - CFO

• Mr. Baetz has significant public company experience across the financial, strategic planning and investor relations areas. Mr. Baetz most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at Seventy Seven Energy Inc., a domestic oil service company. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Atrium Companies, Inc., a large private equity owned windows manufacturer. Prior to Atrium, Mr. Baetz served as Chief Financial Officer of Boots & Coots International Well Control, an international well intervention and risk management company. Earlier in Mr. Baetz’s career he served as Vice President of Finance, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary of Chaparral Steel Company and Director of Corporate Finance at Texas Industries Inc. Mr. Baetz has led the sale of three public companies; has successfully completed two public spin-offs; and raised almost $5 billion in capital. Mr. Baetz holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas.

- Kaj Vazales

• Mr. Vazales, 38, is a Managing Director in the Distressed Debt group of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., and has been a member of the Distressed Debt group since 2007. He has invested in public securities and private opportunities across a range of industries, including companies in the gaming, auto, industrial, financial, healthcare, retail, airline and energy sectors. Mr. Vazales has served as a director on a number of public and private boards and has been a member of both audit and compensation committees thereof. Prior to joining Oaktree, Mr. Vazales served as an analyst in the Financial Restructuring Group at Houlihan Lokey, where he advised clients across a variety of industries on strategic alternatives and balance sheet restructurings.

- Eugene (Gene) Voiland

• Mr. Voiland, 70, is Chairman of the Board of Valley Republic Bank where he has served as a member of the Bank’s Board of Directors since 2008. Mr. Voiland is the retired President and CEO of Aera Energy LLC, where he served for more than 10 years. He has a long history in the energy industry, having worked over 28 years for Shell before his service at Aera Energy LLC. During his career with Shell, he worked as an engineer and manager throughout the US. He also held senior management positions with Shell, having been appointed General Manager of Engineering and General Manager of Corporate Planning. Mr. Voiland is on a number of for profit and nonprofit boards, and is a management consultant. He is also a board member of Saltchuk Resources, a transportation, energy, and real estate investment and management company. He is active in state and community affairs, serving on four local non-profit boards, as well as a Leadership Council Member of California Forward. He is also a Board Member and Past Chairman of the California State Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Voiland is a 1969 graduate of Washington State University with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering. He is a member of the WSU Foundation Board of Governors and the WSU Foundation Investment Committee.